Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Ebola leads to hunger in Africa’s rice belt

It
was Christmas Eve, but the streets of Freetown – the capital of Sierra Leone –were
eerily silent. Families and friends did not meet for the traditional dinner to
feast on Jollof Rice, a national dish
that is served in all the ceremonies across the country.

In
December 2014, the government of Sierra Leone banned all public celebrations to
prevent the further spread of Ebola in the worst-affected country. Similarly, Guinea – the country where the
latest Ebola crisis began – banned holiday gatherings during Christmas and New
Year.

But
even before this drastic step was taken, people living in the countries hit
hardest by the deadly virus – Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea –had little to
cheer about. Although there was a glimmer of hope for an end in sight to the
Ebola epidemic, these countries were reported to be on the brink of a major
food crisis.

The
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food
Programme (WFP) revealed in December that the Ebola outbreak had left nearly
half a million people in the three countries “severely food insecure”: 120,000
in Sierra Leone, 170,000 in Liberia and 230,000 in Guinea.

The
organizations warned that this number could double to one million by March 2015
unless urgent measures are taken to significantly enhance access to food and
safeguard crop and livestock production in these countries, which have a very
large rural agricultural sector.

The
crisis has been further aggravated because these countries were trying to
recover from a tragic past (prolonged civil war in both Liberia and Sierra
Leone and military rule in Guinea), when Ebola struck.

Shock to food and agricultural
sectors

FAO
and WFP stated that the Ebola epidemic has caused a significant shock to the
food and agriculture sectors in the affected countries, where two thirds of the
population depend on agriculture for their livelihood. A number of interrelated
factors, including quarantines, disruptions in transport and trade, and rising
food prices are triggering the food crisis.

Experts
participating in the Global Rice Market and Trade Summit organized by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in
Bangkok, Thailand in October 2014, remarked that there was a noticeable rise in
the local rice prices in the affected countries, although the Ebola crisis is
not expected to have a major impact on the global rice market.

Many
farmers have abandoned their fields and harvests for fear of the disease. In
Sierra Leone, for instance, it is reported that up to 40% of farms were
abandoned in the worst affected areas.

Impacts on the rice sector

Rice
is the most important staple in the three countries and its price and
accessibility directly influence social stability. Annual per capita
consumption of rice (about 100 kg) is amongst the highest in sub-Saharan
Africa. However, all the three countries are net importers of rice as demand is
much higher than local production.

The
promotion of domestic rice production is therefore a key element in the
national rice development strategy (NRDS) developed by each of these countries under
the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) framework.

The
national programs of these countries are involved in a large number of joint projects
with Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) and have identified “Rice Sector Development Hubs,” a mechanism
introduced by AfricaRice across sub-Saharan Africa to concentrate R&D
efforts and connect partners along the rice value chain to achieve greater
impact.

Since
the last few years, AfricaRice has been providing targeted support to Liberia
and Sierra Leone at their request to revive their rice sectors, under the umbrella
of the World Bank-funded West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP).

The
main focus of this support is to make improved seed and technologies available
to farmers, enhance rice quality and develop a critical mass of scientists, technicians,
extension workers and seed producers.

However,
the Ebola crisis threatens to undo the progress made in all these areas.

According
to FAO, the 2014 rice production is expected to reduce by 12% in Liberia, 8% in
Sierra Leone and 4% in Guinea. But there
are big disparities within the region: production is down by 20% in Liberia’s
Lofa district– which is the main rice-producing region and is considered as
Liberia’s breadbasket – and by 17% in the hardest hit parts of Sierra Leone.

“The
Ebola outbreak in Liberia is a complete setback to our achievements,” said
AfricaRice scientist Inoussa Akintayo, who is coordinating an emergency rice
project in Lofa and Bong districts in Liberia supported by the World Bank.

In
August 2014 for reasons of safety, AfricaRice Management decided to pull out
its regional and international researchers from Liberia and Sierra Leone. “This
has affected the implementation of the planned WAAPP activities,” said
AfricaRice scientist Bert Meertens, who is assisting the Sierra Leone
Agricultural Research Institute in WAAPP activities.

Call for urgent action

In
addition to addressing the immediate priority of Ebola control, FAO and WFP
have called for urgent action to re-establish the farming system in the three
countries. Measures should enable most vulnerable people to access agricultural
inputs, such as seeds and fertilizers and adopt improved technology to address
labor shortages.

AfricaRice
is actively involved in discussing and planning strategies to make improved
rice seed available to farmers with strong support from donors, such as the
Government of Japan, the African Development Bank, FAO, the International Fund
for Agricultural Development, the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and the World Bank among others, as well as the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS). These
activities are part of the overall effort to support the Ebola-hit countries on
the road to economic recovery and growth.

Meanwhile, remembering the quiet
heroism of scientists in these countries, AfricaRice economist Ali Toure who
was working in Sierra Leone, remarked, “We are praying for the safety of our
brave colleagues, who are continuing their work under very difficult and even
dangerous situations.”

By
the end of 2014, nearly 8,000 deaths from Ebola had been reported in the three
countries. The World Bank estimates the regional economic toll could reach
US$32 billion by the end of 2015.

About the author : Savitri Mohapatra is the head of Marketing and Communications at AfricaRice.

AfricaRice headquarters is based in Côte d’Ivoire. Staff are located in Côte d’Ivoire and also in AfricaRice Research Stations in Benin, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania. For more information visit: www.AfricaRice.org

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